OVERVIEW:
Sterling Systems and Controls, Inc. supplied a Micro and Minor Weighing System with Bulk Bags to a large producer of animal food. The system supplied by Sterling Systems is responsible for reducing batch cycle times and improving ergonomic labor conditions and accuracy of all weighments. Whether for pet food or livestock feed, Sterling Systems custom designs and manufactures each system to meet customer specific requirements.
THE CHALLENGE:
The primary requirements were to reduce batch cycle times and increase batch accuracy while reducing the manual labor of dumping 50 pounds bags directly into the systems mixer.
THE SOLUTION:
Sterling Systems & Controls provided a Micro/Minor Weighing System with Bulk Bags that featured 30 stainless steel supply bins with multiple size auger feeder assemblies, 8 Bulk Bag Unloading Stations, 5 Scale Hoppers and a heavy duty frame and platform. Each supply bin offers 6 cubic ft. working capacity, The outside bin lids are removable while the center bins have an inlet for feeding from bulk bags. The front half of the lids are hinged for inspection purposes of the bins, the internal bin grates and the product. The bins are also removable for maintenance and cleaning. The feeder assemblies on the supply bins are stainless steel multiple pitch augers. The feeder augers feature inverter duty motors with quick connectors, industrial bearings and seals with an air gap to eliminate material from reaching the bearing if the seal fails.
The Bulk Bag Unloading Stations feed the center bins and are adjustable to the bag length. The bulk bag unloading stations feature forklift frames, hoist and trolley, funnel transition hoppers, operator safety features and stainless steel hoppers. This weighing system with bulk bags features scale inlets that are larger than the feeder discharge to improve material flow. Features include a four-point load cell configuration per high resolution scale for better accuracy. All of the supply bins include bin vibrator mounting pads to allow for the installation of bin vibrators if the product requires flow assistance, and butterfly valve discharge gates in lieu slide gates. The system all comes together on a heavy duty mild steel frame that features a pallet stand with pallet safety gate, stairs with safety gate, 30” wide center mezzanine/walkway with safety hand rails and kick plates, separate supply bin and scale frames. The separate supply bin frames allow the supply bins to be filled while the system is batching without affecting scale accuracy.
The motor starter control panel features UL Listing, main power disconnect, NEMA12 mild steel enclosure, Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) on Ethernet for control interface and fast/slow feeder speed control and junction boxes that reduce field wiring.
THE RESULTS:
This micro and minor weighing system with bulk bags increased accuracy and reduced batch cycle time from ~15 minutes to ~5 minutes with multiple high resolution scales which allowed for multiple ingredients to weigh simultaneously. Manual labor of dumping 50 pounds bags directly into the systems mixer was either greatly reduced or, in most cases, eliminated because of the introduction of the bulk bag unloading stations.
Working With Us
Give us a call today to talk about your business and process objectives and see how Sterling Systems & Controls can provide a custom engineered solution. You can reach us by phone at 1-815-625-0852, toll-free in the USA 1-815-281-5378, or by email at sci@sterlingcontrols.com.